Bands – Bill as Bandleader…

Urban Vibes

Urban Vibes is Bill Ware’s experimental improvisational jam band which first took up residency in the late ’90s at The Ace of Clubs (formerly Acme Underground) in the East Village, New York City. Bill produced, arranged and performed on keyboards and vibraphone – with a great list of talented musicians joining in. Read more HERE.

Vibes

In 1997, the Jazz Passengers’ rhythm section (Bill, Brad Jones, and E.J. Rodriguez) needed a forum to cut loose from the tightly composed arrangements of the Passengers. They found their outlet every Wednesday night at the Knitting Factory Tap Room’s “Late Night Hang,” with dark, pulsating jazz- funk sounds under the banner “JP trio” (which later changed to “Vibes”). Vibes debuted on record in 1998 on a Knitting Factoryalbum of the same name,and then followed with three more recordings, “With Drawn” (Knitting Factory Records – 1999), “Liebe Tunina” (Knitting Factory Records – 2000), and “Four” (Knitting Factory Records – 2001). Bill continues to lead the group in trio and quartet format today with an impressive roster of NYC downtown players, regularly appearing at Puppet’s Jazz Bar in Park Slope, Brooklyn.

Club Bird All Stars

In 1990, Bill was invited by Club Bird in Yokohama, Japan, to join a group of New York musicians for a three-month engagement. On returning to the US, Bill added members from AM Sleep to the group, calling it “Bill Ware and the Club Bird All Stars”. They received rave reviews for producing, writing, and recording “Long and Skinny” (Knitting Factory Works – 1993). Personnel were Bill Ware – vibes, Jay Rodriguez – saxes, Josh Roseman – trombone, Matt King – piano, Pete MacDonald – drums, Brad Jones – bass.

Groove Thing

In 1993, Bill and saxophonist Jay Rodriguez signed onto the Eight Ball Records label with their solo acid jazz project, Groove Thing. They released two cds, the first in 1994 (The Adventure), and the second in 1997 (This Is No Time…), which featured Blondie star Deborah Harry. Groove Thing gigged in NYC regularly in the 90’s at various clubs such as SOBs.